We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tamara Davis-Jack. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tamara below.

Tamara, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

My business, Positivity Has A Purpose™ started as a means for survival. I have often stated that PHAP™ was established in 2009, but the integral thoughts that later formed into a business began much earlier in my life. I grew up in central Pennsylvania in a small town. In the 1980s the population was under 4,000 and drugs were ravishing our neighborhoods and families. From birth, I was an epileptic who had frequent Gran Mal seizures. I spent a lot of time away from other children. While all of the other children were outside, I was often in the kitchen cooking with my beloved Grandmother, Mamie, and at school, I was in the library watching them from the window as they laughed and played. It was normal for me. In the 1980s, there was not much knowledge about epilepsy and how it could be controlled, so school staff, physicians, and my family felt it best to keep me safely indoors as much as possible under their watchful eye. As a result, I was extremely shy and never had many friends. I found my solitude in a comfy bean bag chair in the all-wood school and public libraries that smelled of pine oil and pine sol, where I escaped reality in books. I would read about all of the exotic places the librarians would talk about when they returned from vacations and any books I could overhear others speaking about. I would talk to the teachers who came in on breaks. I would read every new book cover to cover and prided myself in completing every book in 48 hours regardless of its length. My greatest feat was “The Odyssey”. My love for literature was unrelenting. At home, my family resided in low-income housing in an environment abundant with resilient mothers who deferred their dreams to ensure their children had a chance to achieve theirs. As a latchkey kid, I was a child who was often at home without adult supervision with my siblings for a large part of the day, especially after school until our mother returned from work and night school. Having so much time alone, navigating rigorous after-school activities and meal times for my siblings gave me a greater sense of independence at a very early age.

See, there wasn’t anyone really checking for the project kids to ensure that we had a way out. To many who knew where we lived, the road into our community was a gateway to a life none of us could articulate at that time but none of us were expected to escape. My home was right next to a rock quarry and a dumpster, a proverbial rock and a hard place. In my corner of the library for a few hours a day, I could escape the life around me and envision bridges where so many tried to build walls. I remember sitting on the steps of the housing projects after being at the library, looking over at the hills in the distance when I had my first “positivity push” as I now call them. I thought, “I wonder what it would be like to live up there”. By “up there” I didn’t mean I wanted to look down on everyone else. I wanted to be in a position where I could see everything that I had come from. I additionally wanted to give others in my community a different vantage point, something to aspire to. I never knew how big of a thought that was until many years later.

Thinking back on that 10 or 11-year-old mind I realize, I couldn’t really articulate what it is I was wanting. I knew that the mindset I had was not shared by many in my environment. I always wanted to make the world better than it was when I came into it. I never thought about life from a singular perspective. I always thought of how my things could change for us all. After reading a book about lighthouses, I would always think of myself as a lighthouse in the middle of darkness that shines my light for everyone to see. No matter what went on around me I was always positive. I could always see that there was something better coming for me regardless of any bad situation. Most often, I had society and my environment, telling me that everything I felt was unrealistic. It was really hard to hold onto visions of grandeur in an environment designed to extinguish them. Additionally, my home life took a drastic turn as I endured years of abuse at the hands of people my mother trusted. But I knew something had to come of all the struggles I was going through. There was no way as a child that I could survive abuse and all the atrocities that came with it for nothing. I knew that in order for this life thing to work I had to change my perspective. By that time, I knew that while parts of me were gone forever, the greater sum of my parts remained. Even these thoughts were not enough to help me escape my innermost feelings. I was filled with a lot of turmoil, for a lot of years, stuck in between places, sometimes feeling that the rock and a hard place designed to trap me had buried me. I was not wanting to be ungrateful for the home and places that I had been in, or was in, but knew that there was someplace greater for me. That longing for something more led to deep depression, and really wanting to end my life, so I buried myself deeper in the library.

One day, I arrived to see the librarian had held 2 new books for me that completely changed my life. The first book had just arrived that day. It was called “The Color Purple” by Alice Walker. There were many parts of “The Color Purple” that mirrored my own life and really impacted me. There was one pivotal part of the book where one of the main characters, Miss Celie stated to her husband after years of abuse, “I’m poor, black and I might even be ugly..but Dear God, I’m here!” That stuck out to me because I had spent so many years not so much feeling ugly on the outside, but feeling a profound amount of ugliness on the inside. I realize at that moment that if Miss Celie could survive, so could I.

The next book was, “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen R. Covey. Feverishly reading that book from cover to cover I realize that there was something great that I was meant to do. Every page spoke to me like a beautiful symphony, each note carrying a different dream and aspiration. At that time, I had never heard of personal self-development or how it could change your life, but I knew that those “7 Habits” were something that I could most definitely do. I would repeat them religiously and turned them into a song that I would repeat when times got hard. The “7 Habits” were:
Be proactive
Begin with the end in mind
Put first things first
Think win/win
Seek to understand first, before making yourself understood
Learn to synergize
Sharpen the saw

#7 was the most important for me. I decided to definitely begin with the end of mind and be proactive by sharpening my saw. I knew my greatest weapon and way out of where I was was my love of education and literature so I began to read the dictionary and learn as many new words as I could. At the time I didn’t know how I would use them, but I knew that I had to know them. I was on fire but still had no example to draw from. Then, one day while I was at my grandparent’s house in September 1986, I turned on the television and saw something so profound it completely rocked my world. I saw Oprah Winfrey’s debut on the “Oprah Winfrey Show”. From that day, I knew what I was called to do. As I continued to follow Oprah’s career and listened to her recollections of her life, I realized she and I had commonalities and was my living breathing example, my lighthouse. Years later, Oprah would go on to play Sophia in one of the very first books that changed the trajectory of my life.

I knew at that time, that there were many people just like me, wanting to find a way from between a rock and a hard place. I knew my experiences had led me to have a profound passion, necessary to lead those willing to get over and oftentimes, from under, the things that were meant to crush and bury them. I most definitely offer a healthy approach to a unique idea: positivity after pain. I also knew that even after life’s many years of peaks and valleys, my approach would be the secret weapon used by anyone who sought a better life and a different perspective than they were raised in. So, I started college at age 27 with a child in tow. I took my first speech class, and I’ve never looked back. All these years later, my business, Positivity Has A Purpose™ is becoming a recognized brand and my light continues to shine. People all over the world will continue to hear about how positivity has absolutely changed my life. I always say, positivity doesn’t make you perfect but it does put your position for your purpose. I always end my speeches with my tagline, “Protect your heart, protect your peace”.

If I had not done that, in those caverns of my life, I surely would not be here. It is my greatest intention to continue being a lighthouse, a guiding light, and a beacon, to those who seek it, proof positive that no matter where life finds you, your destiny will always catch up. I’ll leave the light on for you.

Positivity Has A Purpose™

Tamara, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I bring to the table a multifaceted background of over 20+ years of experience as a Public Speaker, Ordained Minister, Positivity Coach, and Group Facilitator with lifelong experience in overcoming. I have an eclectic professional background as an entrepreneur as well as in banking, law enforcement, management, corporate real estate, and acquisitions. I am a graduate of Pennsylvania State University & Drexel University.

I am proudest of my husband and children.

Positivity Has A Purpose™ is the last stop for life-changing navigation and motivation. I have worked with individuals, groups, and organizations to amplify their authenticity and have empowered hundreds to become a better version of themselves. I am also the host of a podcast named “Nothing To See Here”.

Positivity Has A Purpose™️ (PHAP™️) is focused on positivity after pain, lighting a way for anyone who seeks to get over and oftentimes, from under, the things that were meant to crush and bury them.

We offer a multitude of products such as candles, affirmation cards, journals, t-shirts, books, and specialty affirmational products meant to ensure you are surrounded by the energy you create.

At Positivity Has A Purpose™️, we seek to solidify the power of positivity to harness successful outcomes through manifestation exercises, breathwork, meditation (including reiki & singing bowls), journaling, affirmations, and both group & individual breakout sessions. We implement these processes via workshops, live events, and retreats designed to ensure you live the best of your life, for the rest of your life.

Protect Your Heart – Protect Your Peace. Heal. Grow. Shift.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

The greatest lesson I had to unlearn was not to count myself out while I was becoming. I had to realize that we are all in a state of learning and growth on an everyday basis. Just when you think you have learned it all, life will throw you a challenge you can learn from.

I stopped asking for patience and asked for resilience.
I stopped asking for more time and started to use all the time I had to the best of my ability.
I stopped putting off for tomorrow what I could do today because you are never guaranteed another one.
I stopped looking so forward to the future that I neglected to enjoy the journey.

I had a brain aneurysm in 2003 and it changed my perspective on everything and my intentions to all things. Life has a way of showing you how valuable life can be if you choose to waste it.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Early in my speaking career, I wasn’t sure about what I wanted to talk about. I know I want to speak about positivity, but I wasn’t so apt to speak about the pain. I wasn’t sure I wanted to tell my whole story because it involved things my family would prefer to hide. I wasn’t sure what they would think about it, but I realize that I had to speak my entire truth.

There was no way I could free anyone from the prison I refused to release myself from.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.positivityhasapurpose.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/positivityhasapurpose/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@positivityhasapurpose

Image Credits
Tony Rushing, 180° Productions, LLC